荷莲呈祥壶

English working translation

Transformation of Spirit

The lotus is an important expressive motif in Chinese culture. From the Book of Songs ("On the mountain grows the fusang, in the marsh grows the lotus"), to the Songs of Chu ("I fashion lotus petals to make my garment, gather hibiscus to form my sash"), to Zhou Dunyi's On the Love of Lotus, the image of the lotus has permeated Chinese literature, art, and religious works for thousands of years.

Lotus motifs are also frequently employed in Yixing pottery art. This "Lotus Presenting Auspiciousness" teapot by Gu Jingzhou features a body shaped like a blooming lotus flower, with a lid resembling a plump lotus seedpod. Around the knob are six lotus seeds arranged in a circle, lively and endearing. The handle is fashioned like a lotus stem, full and upright. The spout curves forth, wrapped in a lotus leaf—as a gentle breeze arrives, the flower sways gracefully.

This teapot appeared at the "Jinling '94 Autumn Calligraphy, Painting, and Ceramics Auction" on October 16, 1994, achieving the highest transaction price in the ceramics section at that time.